First Construction [in Metal], Second and Third Construction, Quartet, Trio and Living Room Music. All written between 1935 and 1941 these pieces belong to the period during which Cage was composing from intention rather than relying on chance operations. Third Coast Percussion have given it a lot of thought, producing clean, well recorded performances in which the compositional relationships are clearly articulated, not ‘Caged’ for the wow factor or pressed through. It makes them more conventional but places them in their historical context. Cage wasn’t just a lone genius, he was part – an extreme part, eventually, I admit - of a broader school of experimentation, and these pieces (excepting Living Room) show just how sharp, sonically and structurally he was, building a new music on new principles with intention and precision.